Ford's better idea: robotics testing

Photo by DAVID N. POSAVETZ Robotics installed on the driver’s seat side of a 2015 Ford Transit van enable engineers to put the vehicle through sometimes-grueling testing procedures without benefit of a driver.

While that might be true, those who test drive those vehicles for a living aren’t quite as resilient.

So the engineers and technical specialists at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds near Romeo came up with a better idea: employing state-of-the-art technology to test vehicles long before they reach the market.

“As our trucks have gotten tougher and stronger, so have the tests that we put them through,” said Ron Hall, Ford spokesman. “But now we’ve reached the point where it’s no longer safe to have human drivers perform these off-road drives more than once or twice.”

Advertisement

Faced with a dilemma, Ford came up with a solution. At the Romeo facility, Ford now puts it vehicles through the most bone-jarring, teeth-clanging tests without the benefit of drivers.

“We’re always trying to develop (better) products,” said Dave Payne, manager of vehicle development operations. “… Some of these (tests), we can’t even allow our drivers to go on anymore.

“… We’re mapping our really tough and extreme testing into robotic testing, saving the drivers for the more routine kind of driving.”

To make the system work, one building at the Ford facility has taken on the look of NASA mission control center. With the use of a GPS system, television cameras and a bank of television screens to monitor the vehicles and test tracks, Ford’s experts can put the trucks and cars through their paces without a driver anywhere in sight. Units that make the system function are mounted on the driver’s seat and are able to shift gears, accelerate, brake and turn as they follow a pre-programmed route.

“We think it’s the world’s first autonomous vehicle,” Payne said.

But lest you think the dawn of the driverless car is upon us, be advised: The system is not capable – yet – of piloting vehicles on public roads.

Ford claims it’s the first automaker to develop and employ the robotics testing technology, and all the development took place at the Michigan Proving Grounds.

Besides saving test drivers trips to their chiropractors and dentists, the robotics testing system provides Ford a practical advantage.

Experts estimate they can simulate 10 years and 150,000 miles of wear and tear on a vehicle in three months or less. That means Ford’s new products get to consumers more quickly.

“We’re all about getting products to our customers as soon as possible,” Payne said.